Yes, it’s time for another road trip, don’t ya think?

Interesting…
Before the game (TV broadcast) they talked about how Teemu Selanne feels that the team used to focus on not giving up so many goals…and that they were straying from that too much. The Caps get 6 tonight.

Interesting…
Before the game (at the Honda Center) the quote on the board was from Bobby Ryan discussing how he can really do some damage. He gets 2 goals and 3 points for the night.

Poor Jonas Hiller. He got worked by poor defense and too many turnovers. I don’t know that you can really blame him for the goals he let by. However it was good timing to bring in J.S. Giguere. I always get the impression that when Jiggy feels threatened he tends to play better. It’s too bad he doesn’t ALWAYS play that way, but I’ll take it anytime!! Anyway, there were too many turnovers, too many lazy plays and SO many effort LESS passes. UGLY! Getting back that first 8 minuets of the game might have meant the difference for the Ducks tonight though.

A big momentum swinger was the Bobby Ryan goal, the Corey Perry fight and the Chris Pronger hit (we’ll get into that later) all in the first period. You could see the Ducks turn it on a bit after those few events. Again, had they been playing this way the entire game, things might have been different.

That Ryan Getzlaf goal was beautiful. It was the kind where you were already standing because you KNEW it was going in. Getz took his time and made a beautiful move. After that it was disappointing to know the period was close to an end. I really wanted to see the Ducks out there with this passion and fight that they haven’t been showing too often. Too bad it couldn’t translate into the 2nd. The Ducks clearly weren’t putting as much effort in during the middle there.

Bobby Ryan getting the first two of the season for him tonight was fantastic. He brought damage that was for sure. Glad he could back up the talk! The goals came at some good times giving the Ducks a bit of a boost. Plus gives that guy some confidence out there on the ice and it makes that top line even better. He didn’t shy from doing work either…he led the Ducks with 5 SOG for the evening.

I’m sure it was a bit of a relief for Selanne to get a goal tonight as well. Cause from the get go, the Caps had his number and they really shut him down. I noticed that he couldn’t get going at all from the very beginning of the game. You could kinda see it on his face all night too.

I wanted to post tonight because there was so much to say and really cause I wanted to make sure that I mentioned this. I’m expecting to see about 5 million posts tomorrow about PRONGER. Dirty hitting Pronger. His hit in the first on Mike Green was huge, and like I said before, I think it was a momentum changer. It was HUGE!!! I’m prepared to defend this one to the death because I have a feeling that Ducks haters are going to be out there calling for Prongers head on this one (gosh I hope I'm wrong). It was clean. Pronger got low (again, let’s discuss his height 6’6’’) and it was clear SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. You could tell Pronger took his time and calculated what needed to be done. It was a good hit, it’s why Pronger fans are Ducks fans, because he’s the guy that everyone loves to hate when he’s not in their uniform. Green didn't return to the game by the way. Anyway…I’d really love it if I saw nothing about it tomorrow, but I wont be holding my breath on that one.

It was an intense game for sure. I really REALLY didn’t want to see Alexander Ovechkin celebrate, and unfortunately that happened FAR too many times over the course of the evening. Oh well. I also did NOT like when he held Bobby Ryan defenseless so that John Erskine could get in a few shots there at the end of the 3rd.

The Ducks had plenty of opportunities to get it done in the 3rd and got off a great 16 SOG during that period alone (they only had 16 in the first two combined. Oh and BTW, the Ducks lost the SOG battle tonight, 32-33 AND lost the game…so the theory doesn’t hold up for tonight.) I don’t think I’ve seen a game where so many passes flew right through the crease just missing a stick or a defenders skate. SO CLOSE SO MANY TIMES! I can say one thing that I don’t like seeing…a wide open Brendan Morrison not able to get it done on a one on one opportunity. I’m just saying…that guys window of opportunity here is practically closed.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’m sure there is a possibility that tomorrow there will be more flowing from my head and I’ll add another then.

But one thing is for sure…getting away from the Honda Center might just be what these guys need right now!

Go Ducks!